Japan Has Its First Female Prime Minister

Let's see what happens next:

Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi was elected prime minister by parliament on Tuesday, shattering Japan’s glass ceiling to become the country’s first female leader.

Takaichi avoided a runoff by rolling to victory in a first round of voting in the Lower House, garnering 237 votes against Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda’s 149.

Lawmakers applauded Takaichi as she voted and welcomed her with another thunderous round of applause after her election.

She then seized the race in the Upper House, but only in a runoff, after she failed to secure a majority in the first round of voting by a razor-thin margin — she had 123 votes out of 246 valid votes.

With a total of 120 seats between them, the LDP and Japan Innovation Party (JIP) — which agreed to form a coalition on Monday — were short of a majority in the Upper House. In the runoff, Takaichi received 125 votes and defeated Noda.

Rules for electing a prime minister say that if no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round of voting, the candidate with the highest number of votes in a runoff is elected.

Monday’s coalition agreement between the LDP and the JIP had made a Takaichi victory all but certain by delivering the support needed to fend off any potential challenge from a united opposition.

During a news conference Tuesday evening, Takaichi said that while her government faces “a difficult start,” she will face the challenges head on.

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Japan was set to get its first woman prime minister on Tuesday after Sanae Takaichi, a China hawk and social conservative, forged an 11th-hour deal to form a new coalition.

But Japan’s fifth premier in as many years will lead a minority government and has a full in-tray, not least a scheduled visit by U.S. President Donald Trump next week.